Saturday, April 28, 2012

It's over a year since my last hair rebond. I finally decided to treat myself with straight hair but didn't know which salon to go. Victor Ortega is now a couple of rides away from my place. Just thinking of the wait for my turn in that heavily packed salon and traveling back and forth made me think of trying this newly opened salon near my house. Actually. I can see a lot of hair salons around Shaw Boulevard that are inviting and promising. So far, this one is also inviting.. and promising.. and very affordable too!

My new hair after 4 hours of rebonding at Pia Jane Salon and Spa. I took a package worth P1500 for this. The package included hair rebond, hair cellophane and hair treatment with Semi di Lino.

Before and after rebonding photos. Deadma na ang face huh. Just notice the difference with my hair. Wavy hair on the left. Soft and straight on the right.

Before and after rebonding close up photos. Dry hair on the left and soft hair on the right.

Hair rebonding is only P799 (any length) at this salon. Other services they offer are as follows:

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I was at the Complex Lifestyle Store in Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City to attend Keds x Style Icons last Friday. It was an intimate event attended by lifestyle and fashion bloggers, a few people from media and selected guests. Style icons Patricia Prieto, Tricia Gosingtian and Plump Pinay (Dawn & Stacy) were there to talk about the swimwear they designed themselves.

Being the first blogger to register gave me enough time to take photos and even chat with designer/ blogger/ style icon/ model Patricia Prieto. If you follow my blog, you know I already met her HERE and HERE. I'm a fan :)

Gathering around.. the program was about to start.

Entered Miss Jan Nicole Solo who greeted us all with words of welcome and a genuine smile.

Like I said, it was an intimate event so the store had enough room for everyone.

Miss Karen Ong followed with her presentation of Keds' history and achievements.

Then it was time to see the newest designs for I Love Koi swimwear.

Tricia Gosingtian talked about what inspired her in creating a high-waisted two piece swimsuit called Lolita and a maillot called Slumberdoll. Both swimsuits are available in different colors and fun vintage prints.

Plump Pinay's swimsuits are called Plumpinup, a high-waisted bikini, and Viderlina, a maillot with asymmetrical design. They are available from XS to XXXL sizes.

Patricia Prieto's designs are called Paradigma and Normandie. The first is a two-piece swimsuit named after her blog, while the latter is a beautiful cutout maillot, the one she's holding in the photo.

After the presentation of the designs, we were treated into a light snack of cupcakes and iced tea and juices from Happy Lemon. Guests had a chance to have a photo op with the designers and utilize the photo booth where one can get instant souvenir photos. Lastly, a raffle was made where I was able to win a pair of Havainas. Yey, so lucky!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

When it's hot, you will need something that could help you cool down. So today, I am sharing my first ever homemade halo-halo. The number one Filipino snack which is trending in a summer season like this. Yum nom nom!

First step for a homemade halo-halo is shop for the ingredients and a hand ice shaver. Cook the ingredients one by one. Fruits and root crops like banana, sweet potato, and langka needs to be cooked in sugar syrup. On the other hand, jelly and sago pearls should be cooked according to package directions. Lastly, make your halo-halo special by adding your favorite dessert like halayang ube, leche flan or ice cream.

Here's how:
Fill your glass with a spoonful of each ingredient, except for the ice and milk. Pack some shaved ice into your halo-halo glass. Top it with ube jam and minatamis na buko. Pour a desired amount of evaporated milk and enjoy.

Most of the ingredients are cooked in syrup so I did not add sugar anymore. Plus, I love ube so much so I doubled the scoop.

NOTE: This post was originally published in my old blog, www.utotmopink.com, dated April 22, 2012.

This Hip Hurray Kipling's 25th anniversary bag is just perfect for the summer. I have mine in purple with a matching monkey key ring in the same color. I use this as an extra bag when shopping or going out for a quick errand.

Going to the beach, I can use this bag to carry stuff like flip-flops or swimwear and other personal things.

I usually wear it as a tote, but other than toting it, there are more carrying styles to choose from. Check this photo below.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Big cheers for Rajo Laurel! Tyra Banks posted this photo of her wearing a graphic print dress by the famous Filipino designer at her Facebook page yesterday. First it was Michael Cinco who dressed the girls of American's Next Top Model shown on episode 8 of Cycle 16. Next, Oliver Tolentino dressed 7 out of 13 girls of ANTM All Stars. Now, it is Rajo Laurel's dazzling moment 'cause it is Tyra Banks herself wearing a Filipino creation. Bongga talaga!!!

Rajo Laurel wrote on his blog and I quote, "I just saw TYRA BANKS in my GOWN! I am shaking like a leaf as I type this as this feels like a dream! It’s almost surreal! I mean, I just watch the woman on TV and now SHE IS WEARING MY WORK! I am so grateful to my cousin Mike Carandang for pushing me and urging me and making all this happen! I am so very very very very grateful!"

He also wrote, "I think she wore this to one of the final episodes of the latestAmerica’s Next Top Model! The one where the British girls invade America! I just want to share this with all of you as this is so AMAZING! I am so happy for my team as we really work hard to make Philippine Fashion world class! THANK YOU TYRA!!!"

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Isn't that amazing? To hear about a Filipino designer taking Hollywood? Way to go Rajo and all Filipino designers who are remarkable, unique and humble! Continue making your fellow Filipinos proud of you!! Cheers!!!

I first heard about Magnum Ice Cream coming to the country through social networking sites. Up to now, I have not seen a Magnum Ice Cream commercial on Philippine TV yet. I think it's just amazing that even no one sees it on TV, the signature ice cream is already gaining that much of popularity here in Manila. I just don't know about other cities like Cebu or Baguio.

Last year, while on summer vacation in Istanbul where channels are mostly in Turkish (just two or three in English) one of my favorite TVC was this Magnum Temptation Fruit. I thought, the girl giving up a party in that beautiful penthouse for a taste of vanilla ice cream with fruits, chocolate chunks & cranberry pieces all covered in yummy milk chocolate is cute. By the way in Turkey, Magnum Ice Cream is under the brand called Algida. Like Selecta, it also carries the heartbrand logo.

Another Magnum Ice Cream TVC that Turkish people like a lot was this one with Josh Holloway of Lost which was shot in Turkey too. This is even cuter than the TVC from last summer. The lady in red, carrying lots of shopping bags saw a bucket full of Magnum Ice Cream being carried to a limousine. She thought of having an ice cream too but to her surprise, the refrigerator at the nearby store was already empty, then the drama begins.

Monday, April 16, 2012

It was the night of the beauties once again. The Big Dome was filled with crowds and crowds of people, VIPs, celebrities, judges, and 30 beautiful candidates vying for the title Bb. Pilipinas 2012. Xian Lim, Izza Calzado, Georgina Wilson and Venus Raj hosted the event. The panel of judges include beauty holder Precious Lara-Quigaman, Hon. Casimiro Henares III, HE George Gomeca, HE Harry Thomas Jr., actor Richard Gomez, Lisa Hontiveros, Phili Younghusband of Philippine AZKALS, John Miller of Nestle Philippines and more. The talents who performed were Bamboo and Arnel Pineda.

My other bet to win the crown at the last night's event was candidate #9 Mary Jane Lastimosa. Too bad she did answer well though she made it to the 12 Semi Finalist. She even took home a couple of special awards, Bb. Philippine Airlines and Bb. AVON.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

I was just watching SALT on HBO a while ago. When I opened my favorite online magazine and saw this photo of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and son Pax viewing LACMA's (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) Chinese collection... I couldn't help but smile. Finally, the very famous Holywood celebrity couple are getting married!

Seen in this photo is a ring designed by Robert Procop with (they say) a huge help from Brad Pitt. Robert Procop is famed designer who collaborated with Angeline Jolie on "The Style of Jolie", her very own jewelry line.

Brad and Angie, also known as Brangelina, have 3 biological kids namely Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne and 3 adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara. They have been together since 2005 and their relationship began after the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

In an interview with CBS News in Jan. 29, 2012, Pitt was quoted saying this:

"We're getting a lot of pressure from the kids. ... It means something to them and they're, you know, they have questions when their friends' parents are married and why is that? ... We will someday. We will. ... [But the kids say], 'Get mommy a ring!' Okay, I will, I will."

Don't we just love happy ending? Maybe Brangelina really meant for each other after all and they'll we stronger like celebrity couples Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (TomKat) or David Beckham and Victoria Adams (Posh and Becks).

Yay, excited much with the couple tying the knot; also wondering if Angie's going to wear a red gown!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

It's been a while since my last giveaway. I have new reasons to be thankful these past few months, like reaching 500+ followers for this blog, getting more offers from advertisers, and receiving invitations to awesome events. So, I am pleased to announce today that I am holding another giveaway to thank you all my readers and followers.

The sun was scorching hot again today. I guess the summer heat continues and I know for sure that most of you are planning to hit the beach. When you go to the beach, there is one important thing that you don't want to miss bringing with you, right? That's your swimsuit!

This time, do not buy a new swimwear yet. First try to join my giveaway because you might just win this beautiful rope bandeau from Chick Flick. Joining is pretty easy. You only have to follow these 4 steps.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Just the other day, one of my younger cousins sent me a test message, asking if eating fruits alone (for dinner) is fine for her to lose extra pounds. I said no problem since I've tried that before when I was on my early 20's. I mean, I ate regular meals for breakfast and lunch, then only fruits like apple, orange, or banana for dinner. The changes in my body wasn't very dramatic, but it helped me to drop some weight. Today, while reading my old posts with the same subject, I realized that I should be an advocate of healthy dieting. I strongly believe that every girl should know the importance of eating properly and not skipping meals or fasting in order to slim down.

A lot of young women are (unconsciously) sacrificing their health just to reach an ideal size or weight these days. There are girls who trade in regular meals with diet pills and other crazy diet options, others suffer from common eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. According Wikipedia, an estimated 5 to 10 million people are affected by these kinds of eating disorder in the US alone.

I remember being on a low-carb-less-fat-no-sweets-diet when I was pregnant and diagnosed with GDM (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus). I also tried being a pesco-vegetarian last year. Nowadays, I am working on camote or sweet potato diet for breakfast and only 1/2 to 1 cup of rice every lunch and dinner. Plus, I also spread my meals throughout the day to make my metabolism work faster, then I do some sort of exercise to tone my body. Mind you, never that I intentionally skipped meals nor drank mainly liquids for my weight to go down the scale. I am afraid missing the essentials nutrients from food is dangerous and could lead to serious health problems. Besides, while there is treatment and recovery on sickness related to extreme dieting and eating disorders, most pharmacies in the Philippines do not guarantee the lowest prices on prescription medication, unlike Canada drug pharmacy in America.

Bottom line is, getting sick may cost a lot of money so do not do any crazy diet unless it's healthy!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

When you say chick flick, what comes to your mind? Let me guess, you can only think of those romantic movies right? As for me, shopping comes to my mind (right away) whenever I hear that word. Why shopping you ask? Because that's the name of my newly discovered online store.. it's called Chick Flick.

pink chain bracelet P150

pink fringe flower necklace P280

pink bandeau swimsuit P750

pink leopard booties P1680

pink single button blazer P580

Chick Flick pieces are so cute and fashionable right? Check ChickFlickCollection.Multiply.Com to see more items like accessories and clothes. I am sure there's something for you there.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Kipling presented its Spring/Summer 2012 collection in a fashion show at SM Mall just recently. Models strutted the catwalk wearing bags from the Basic, Basic Travel, Sweet Me, My Valentine, Vintage, Gorilla Gilz, City, City Business, 25 Years, Back to School, and Working Life line. Check my photo coverage below.

Kipling was founded in 1987 and was inspired by Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book. Over the years, Kiling has evolved beyond its original roots of providing high quality backpacks suited for the advertures of daily life into a distinctive, global brand offering a range of carryalls for a variety of lifetsyles. It's no wonder a lot of people have fallen in love with Kipling bags and its iconic monkey. In fact, more than 35 million people around the world now own at least one Kipling bag.